


Share your light with me please

by Kireeeshima



Category: One Piece
Genre: 1000 lawlu tag grind, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Give him a nap, Homeless!Luffy, Law is tired, Luffy Being Luffy, M/M, Overworked Law, So maybe he might spoil Luffy a little too much, They're both happy so it's fine, he needs a nap, let the boy sleep, surgeon!Law
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-08-07 12:53:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16408886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kireeeshima/pseuds/Kireeeshima
Summary: Law is a top surgeon with too much money.Luffy is a stray that shines much too brightly and unfitting for the dirty world he's in.Law is in a world much too dark. It made him wonder, would Luffy share some of his light?OR:Law is tired, he sees a homeless guy. For whatever reason he invites him to stay at his house. That homeless guy being Luffy.





	1. Picking up a stray

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I MEANT TO HAVE THIS OUT DAYS AGO BUT I GOT DISTRACTED AT THE VERY END. 
> 
> I'm a disaster w 0 self control so I have joined in on this 1k lawlu tag grind thing that N_B_E_L made because it haunted me at night. This'll be a little short fic, probably 6 chapters at most.

“You look tired, Captain.” Penguin's voice drawed Law out of his mindless daydream.

“Not really,” He denied, “I always look tired.” 

“Yeah but now you look really tired, how much did you sleep tonight?” 

“About 3 maybe 4 hours off and on throughout the night.” Law shrugged. 

“Captain... you're a doctor, why are you so bad at taking care of your own health?” 

“It’s _because_ I'm a doctor that my sleep schedule is bad. But it doesn't matter, it doesn't affect my work.” He replied, taking a sip of coffee. How many cups was this? Seventh? Tenth? This can't be good for his heart- and as the top surgeon of the top hospital in the country who literally specializes in hearts, he knows this. He takes another sip anyways. A comfortable silence falls in the room and Law basks in it while Penguin walks over to the small coffee maker to pour himself a cup of mediocre break room coffee. Law feels his eyes getting heavier and heavier but he ignores it on favor of drinking more coffee. 

“It looks like it'll rain pretty badly today.” Law looked out at the window when Penguin said that and found out that yes, it did look like it'll rain pretty badly. Good thing he brought an umbrella because it seems like a lot more than a little downpour will happen.

“Rain usually means more accidents which equals more work.” Law sighed as he glanced at the time. Break time was almost over for him. Shame. 

“Ah true. Hopefully the rain will hold up until your shift is over, so you don't have to deal with the extra work. You look like you really need a break.” Penguin sat himself down on the chair across from Law, sitting back onto the uncomfortable and cheap chairs. Why did all the nice chairs go to the waiting rooms for patients? 

“Doubt I'll be able to really sleep much even if I do get that luck. Been rough trying to sleep lately. Think having such a irregular sleep schedule really messed me up.” Law downed the rest of his coffee and let out another sigh, noticing his friend looking over at him worriedly. 

“Try to sleep and not kick the bucket, the hospital will go bankrupt if you die on us, Captain.” Penguin half heartedly joked, a small smile on his face. 

“I bet. Maybe I should joke with Ceaser and tell him I'm changing hospitals, I'd love to see the expression he'd make if I said that.” Law joked back in a mumble, earning a chuckle from Penguin. 

“Bet it'll be great, snap a pic if you ever decide to actually do that.” Law couldn't help but snort at that. His boss was an ass but he could make the most ridiculous faces when shocked or angry. He lazily tossed out the now empty plastic cup into the trash and gave his friend a small wave, heading back to work again until the end of his shift. 

 

.x.

 

Law couldn't tell if God was being nice or being a dick today really. So he got off of work before all the emergency patients from car accidents stormed in-- but the moment he actually left the building far enough that he won't be able to immediately take cover, the sky decided to pour down on him. Course he had his umbrella on him but walking through a storm wasn't exactly on his to do list for today. And of course, Law never parks at the hospital but rather at a parking lot about a 10 minute walk from it because he always wanted at least some kind of physical activity. Rain, how annoying. Law's expensive shoes made small splashes from the puddles with every step, umbrella protecting his clothes from the onslaught of water. People ran past him hurriedly with umbrellas or bags over their heads as they tried to escape the rain. Law on the other hand, walked slowly, much too tired to try to sprint home. He took a turn and walked into the park that led to where he usually parks. The lampposts dimly lighting the path, pitter-patters sounding from the rain hitting the umbrella and heels making soft taps with every strided step.

 

Tap…

Tap…

Tap…

Tap…

 

Law stopped, turning his attention to an uncovered bench (not that any of them were covered). Lying on the bench was a young, straw hat wearing, raven haired boy, sprawled out and snoring away despite the downpour of rain crashing down on him and being very obviously soaked in his worn out looking clothes. 

'He'll catch a cold.’ Law thought. And as a doctor, he couldn't just walk away from some fool snoring out in the pouring rain. He obviously won't give him a lecture, but can at least warn him or wake him up. The surgeon walked over slowly, bringing the umbrella over the already soaked smaller male and lightly tapped his shoulder. When they didn't wake up, he gave it a little shake. Grumbling, the straw hat wearing boy blinked awake lazily until turning to Law and focusing on him.

“Huh? Who're you? Why are my clothes soaked?” The stranger tilted his head to the side slightly.

“Someone who was just passing by, it was raining and you were passed out here so I came here to warn you. You should head home, you'll catch a cold.” 

“I didn't even realize it was raining! You're a nice guy, thanks! But don't worry, I've never gotten a fever before in my life!” They beamed a smile and Law felt warmth spreading through his body despite the cold breeze that just passed by.

“No problem, but you should really head home before you end up getting your first fever.” Law replied. When the other snickered more lights must've turned on because it seemed like everything just got brighter. The other seemed so carefree and happy despite being outside in freezing temperatures and soaked to the bone. Huh. Law wondered why that despite all his luxuries he still couldn't be carefree. Guess the stress of his job overwrote all the luxuries he has from it.

“Ah, I'm homeless. I don't have a home.” The other replied without missing a beat, that brought Law back into reality. The boy didn't sound depressed or trying to gain pity when he said it, it seemed like he was simply just stating a fact. Law got a closer look and realized that the boy's clothes weren't just a little worn out, but actually completely beat up. There were spots in their shorts and half sleeved cardigan that were badly patched up with mismatching colors and other spots that weren't patched up at all. He couldn't tell at first because the boy had shined so brightly. 

“Then… want to stay at my place? Until the rain lets up?” The words flew out of his mouth before he realized it, and the smaller boy just stared up at him curiously. 

“I don't have any money ya know?” They clinked their head to the side. Money? Oh right. Usually you would make someone pay for staying over. The thought somehow entirely slipped his mind.

“Ah, don't worry about money. I don't need it.” He already has too much anyways. The boy simply blinked and continued to stare at him. Law's sleep deprived brain that was working the best that it could to work and only remembered medical knowledge and not really how to interact with actual human beings slowly but surely ticked- and he realized, ‘I sound like a total creep who's about to kidnap him or worse.’ 

“Oh uh- or I could just give you money instead and-”

“Sure! I'll stay at your place until the rain lets up! You seem like a nice guy!” They chirped with a grin, hopping off the bench and wringing his shirt out. Wait what. He trusts him that easily? He looks like death, and that's Law going easy on his own description. In fact he literally has that tattooed on his fingers-- bad for the job he does he supposed but it's fine because he's the top surgeon so they can't fire him for such a reason. 

“What’s your name? I'm Monkey D. Luffy!!” The much shorter boy, Luffy, introduced himself. Right. Knowing the name of the person you're letting into your house would probably be needed. Also most likely the same vise versa.

“Trafalgar Law.” Law held the umbrella over Luffy again because for whatever reason he was still trying to wring out his shirt while standing directly under the rain. 

“Torao it is then!” 

“Tiger guy..? Well… whatever floats your boat I guess.” Seems like they just took out his 'falgar’ part of his name and added an o. 

“So are we goin’?” Luffy looked up at Law with a tilt of his head as he bounced on his heels. 

“Oh right. You know the parking lot over there? That's where my car is.” Law pointed over at the direction and noticed the others eyes were sparkling. 

“You have a CAR?!?! THAT'S SO COOL!! I HAVEN'T BEEN IN A CAR IN FOREVER!! Taxis are too expensive so I just walk!” Luffy beamed and threw his arms up, nearly punching Law in the process. Law couldn't help but chuckle-- an honest, genuine, chuckle. How long has it been since he made such a lighthearted laugh? Where he feels like all the weight on his shoulders disappeared? For a moment it seemed like it did. 

“I hope my car doesn't disappoint you then.” The walk to the parking lot was short and quiet, the smaller boy humming some off tune song Law has never heard off and occasionally kicking pebbles into puddles. When they got there, Law walked up to a sleek, blackish grayish, car that was probably more than twice if not three times the price of most cars. He pulled out his keys to unlock it, only to see Luffy standing a few feet away with a fallen jaw. 

“What's wrong? You'll only get more rain on you if you stand there you know.” Law clicked the button and unlocked the door. 

“This is your car?!” Luffy exclaimed, pointing at it. Law could only nod in slight confusion.

“That's right, why?” 

“It's…” Law rose a brow,

“It's?” 

“IT'S SO COOL!!! IT'S RAINING OUTSIDE YET IT'S STILL SO SHINY AND THE TIRES LOOK SO COOL AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT CAN DRIVE REALLY SUPER FAST AND-” It seems like Luffy finally ran out of breath and had to take a deep breath to continue, “TORAO YOUR CAR IS AMAZING!!!” He full on dashed to the car and jumped into the front seat, bouncing around like he was going to explode from excitement. He looked around the car with wide eyes and constant repeats of 'wooow!’’s and 'so cool..!’’s. It surprised Law. Sure, he's gotten compliments on his car, but never of … this level. Law said nothing and simply started his car and began to drive. Luffy was still bouncing about and admiring the car, but other then that, it was pretty quiet despite Luffy's occasional questions.

“Want to listen to some music?” Law asked, turning to the other. Law used to never understand what people meant by “awkward silence” and hated those who tried to break it with small talk because he always loved the silence. Bathed in it. But now he gets it. 

Guess sitting in his car with some random homeless kid he picked up off the street gets to you. 

“Sure!! I love music!!” Luffy eagerly nodded to Law's relief.

“Alright, what do you want to listen to?” 

“Hmmmm…” Luffy hummed and ckinked his head to the side, “Dunno. Something fun?” 

 

What the hell is something fun?!?!

 

“Alright. Hey Siri, play some hip hop songs.” Law decided on. That's a fun genre, right? Probably.

“Playing SAD! by XXXTentacion…” Siri replied. So much for fun. More importantly, isn't that rap? Not that Law really knew much about music genres. 

“WOAH! WHAT?! YOUR CAR SPEAKED!!!” Luffy tried to stand up from shock but the seat belt stopped him.

“Oh, it's an voice activated system.” Law replied. Luffy looked at him as if Law just grew another head.

“It’s an AI.” Still being looked at like he was speaking another language…

“Basically it has a smart machine in it that can understand what you tell it to do.” Finally Luffy lit up in understandment. 

“I see! So it's a mystery machine!!” He beamed and turned to the touch screen, leaning so close to it that it reminded Law of a young child watching tv. 

“Hey! Mystery machine! What else can you do?” He poked the screen. Despite only seeing it from the corner of his eyes because he was looking at the road as he should be, Law let out a snort. 

“You have to say its name before you ask it something.” Law said. 

“Its name?” Luffy looked over in confusion.

“Yeah, you gotta say 'hey Siri’ and she'll listen to what you have to say.” Law replied. Luffy hummed and turned back to the 'mystery machine’ and poked it again,

“Hey Siri?”

“Hi, how can I help you?” Siri's automated voice replied. Luffy gasped out then turned to Law with a look full of awe.

“She replied! Mystery machine replied!!” He grabbed Law's shoulder and shook it violently. Good thing they were at a red light. Before Law realized it, he let out a laugh. Not a chuckle, not a scoff, but an actual laugh that he didn't feel forced or tired while making it. 

“Yes, it does that, that's its job.” He saw the red light turn to green and he continued driving. 

“What else can she do?” Luffy continued poking the screen as if that was how he got the machine's attention. 

Law hummed, “Not too sure, I don't really use her much besides for music, GPS and calls. I mainly use the other I have at home.” He heard a loud gasp from Luffy. 

“You have ANOTHER mystery machine?!?!” Luffy bounced in his seat. 

“Yeah.” Law nodded. 

“What's its name what's its name???” He repeated excitedly.

“Alexa.” Law replied with a small smile that couldn't resist forming on his lips. Did this boy really not know any of these AI's? 

“What can mystery machine Alexa do?” 

“Control my house for me, I suppose.” More accurately a home assistant but close enough, Law supposed. 

“SO IT'S A SUPER ROBOT?!?!” Luffy's jaw dropped. Another genuine laugh left Law.

“Yup, the Grandmaster.” Law joked, but it seemed like Luffy took it seriously from his amazed 'woaaaaah!’. 

“And what can mystery Torao do?” So now it's about him now huh?

“Cut people open and save lives.” Law replied in a maybe bit too subtle tone for the other to pick up.

“I see. So you're a necromancer huh?” Luffy nodded and hummed as if he understood everything now.

“Uh no. Surgeon. I don't think that's what a necromancer does.” A necromancer? Really? Well… he does kinda fit the appearance with his literal look of death. 

“Ohhhh! So like a super doctor right? That means you're smart.” Luffy began swinging his legs back and forth. 

“I suppose that's true.” He gave a small nod in reply as he drove into the parking lot of his apartment complex. 

“Woah! Is this where you live?! Which room??” Luffy pressed up against the windows of Law's car-- he was probably getting dirty fingerprints all over the glass but did Law care about that right now? No not at all. It was actually amusing. 

“Floor, actually.” Law corrected. 

“Seriously?! You get a whole floor to yourself?” Luffy pressed impossibly more against the window.

“Yeah, I'm on the third floor.” He pulled up into his reserved parking spot in the front that was thankfully also covered by a roof. 

“Do you have a balcony??” Luffy excitedly ran out of the car and bounced on his heels, peering up at the large apartment building.

“... Balcony? Of course.” Why was he so excited about a balcony?

“Can I look down from it???” Luffy somehow seemed even more excited. 

“Sure, knock yourself out. But since it's been raining and is still pouring rain, the bars might be slippery so be careful.” Law belatedly realized the second half of his sentence contradicted the first half. Oh well. 

“YAY! Let's go let's go! I wanna go on the balcony!” He ran around in a little circle. 

“Yeah yeah, I hear you.” Law sighed out and locked his car. So much energy in such a small body…

Wait.

Energy.

Law suddenly staggered and nearly collapsed right there and then, startling poor Luffy. “Torao?!” Law caught his footing and shook his head, running his hand through his hair and almost making his hat fall down onto the wet ground.

“Ah sorry. I've only had about 4 hours of sleep today and didn't sleep at all yesterday, don't worry about it. I kind of forgot I was tired so when I remembered it just hit me.” Law waved him off and unfolded the umbrella so that they wouldn't be poured on the moment they walked out of the reserved parking area. 

“What?! Not sleeping?! That's crazy! That's like saying you don't eat!” Luffy huffed. Law looked off because _maybe_ he _occasionally_ forgot to eat also. But his health is in the safe… barely. It's actually pretty dangerously close to bad. He should work on that. Bet it would be difficult for someone to believe they're going to be saved by someone who looks just about ready to die themselves. 

“You're gonna sleep today, right?!” Luffy gave Law a glare that was far from threatening. Law begun to lead Luffy to his apartment floor, 

“Well I planned to. My insomnia controls my sleep more than I do so I can't say for sure.” 

“Insomni-whatnow? Is that another mystery machine?” Luffy scrunched his eyebrows.

“Insomnia is essentially when you can't really sleep I guess.” Law tried to simplify it as best as he could for the other. 

“Trouble sleeping? How? You just close your eyes.” Law assumed Luffy could probably sleep just about anywhere considering he found him sleeping on a bench in the pouring rain outside. Well not like he really had much of a choice but still.

“Well that's the problem, when you have insomnia your body doesn't let you sleep even when you close your eyes and relax.” Law explained as he folded up his umbrella and pushed the elevator button of the elevator they were now standing in front of.

“Huh. How weird.” Luffy hummed, a small 'ting!’ from the elevator sounding and the doors opened up soon after. Luffy peeked through the window in the elevator as they moved up onto the third floor. 

“Pretty… so many lights..!” Luffy awed with a large smile. 

“True, it is night and this is a densely populated urban business city.” Law never really thought much about the lights, at least not since countless years. He's already forgotten how amazed he was when he first came to this city as a young boy with Corazon… 

Luffy hummed, “You say a lotta big words, how come smart people always use them?” He turned over to Law. Law shrugged,

“Runs in our genes I suppose.” 

“Jeans?” Luffy blinked and stared at Law's pants.

“...Runs in our blood.” He simplified it. Seems like Luffy got it now. 

“Your hat n pants are cool. There's spots on them. And your hat looks fuzzy, does it keep you warm?” Luffy asked as the elevator doors opened again. 

“A little, I guess. That's not really its job.” Law replied as he led Luffy to the entrance. Luffy hummed and followed Law, glancing around and admiring how fancy the building itself looked. Law unlocked the door and walked into a very much dark house, 

“Alexa, turn on the lights.” He sighed out and kicked off his shoes at the doorway. 

“Ok.” The lights turned on immediately after, causing a loud gasp to sound from Luffy.

“THE BUILDING TALKED AND TURNED ON THE LIGHTS!! IS IT MAGIC?! YOUR APARTMENT KNOWS MAGIC?!” He screamed and ran in, soaking sandals and all. A smirk grew on Law's lips,

“Nope, but grandmaster Alexa does.” He teased.

“WOAH!! GRANDMASTER ALEXA! CAN YOU DO MAGIC??!!” Luffy screamed into the air.

“Ok. Now you see me. Now you don't.” Alexa's voice replied. 

“AMAZING!! It was so fast I couldn't even see it!!!” Law covered his mouth with his hand to stop himself from laughing. Quickly regaining composure, Law began to remove his jacket soaked from the rain, but just when he was about to hang it up--

“Grandmaster Alexa! Turn off the lights!”

“Ok.” The apartment went dark again. Law sighed out,

“Alexa, turn on the lights.”

“Ok.” Light returned.

“Alexa! Turn off the lights!!” Well looks like he got tired of adding Grandmaster to it.

“Ok.” The lights turned off again. 

“Alexa, turn on the lights.” Law said again. The moment the lights turned on, he hanged up his jacket and went over to the other.

“Alexa! Turn off the- ow.” Luffy was cut off by Law flicking his forehead. He rubbed the spot he was flicked at and pouted.

“Alright alright, that's enough.” Law half heartedly scolded. 

“Sorry.” Luffy apologized, although he didn't really sound apologetic in the least. 

“I can lend you some clothes so you can get out of those soaked ones, you can use my shower if you want to.” Law pointed to where his bathroom was and Luffy lit up.

“Yay! Shower! I like baths but I always ended up drowning.” He chirped. Law wasn't quite sure he heard Luffy right, but when he confirmed he did indeed hear him right, he just stared in disbelief.

“I- what? How do you end up drowning in the bathtub?” 

“Dunno. Just whenever I sat down I would get real tired and then next thing I knew I would be drowning.” Luffy shrugged and trotted over to the bathroom excitedly. He half heartedly closed the door behind him, but it didn't really close fully from his attempt. Law sighed and decided to see what clothes he could dig up that could somewhat fit the smaller boy. Probably none, he got rid of his he had when he was 13 and then at 14 he hit a massive growth spurt and got ridiculously tall. He just kept growing until he reached the height he was now. Regardless, couldn't hurt to try. Took a bit of digging but he found a hoodie he used to wear back in highschool. Yellow with black sleeves and a odd black smiley face on it. 

… yeah highschool was a… unique time. 

 

Ok so pants definitely won't fit him unless Luffy them rolled up 4000 times, plus all he really had was skinny jeans and Luffy didn't seem like a fan of that from how bouncy and energetic he was. 

“Think I still have those gym shorts from high school…” Law mumbled as he dug through his high school clothes, soon pulling out a pair of black shorts. Gym was the only time he ever wore shorts. He quickly closed the box and shoved it back where it was before. Law walked over to where the bathroom door was and he dropped the clothes there. 

“I left the clothes by the door, Luffy-ya.” Law said loud enough to be heard through the door. He heard Luffy yell a ok back along with a crashing sound soon after- but Luffy was laughing so Law supposed he was alright.

“He's probably hungry… wonder if I even have anything to cook that he would like…” Law hummed to himself as he walked over to his kitchen, opening up his fridge to see it was rather empty. Oh right. He doesn't eat much. He managed to find some kind of pork that was still good and according to the directions, only took 10 minutes over the stove to cook. He also found some Mac and cheese sitting in his pantry and decided to cook that up so there just wouldn't be one thing to eat. Law wasn't even a fan of Mac and cheese so why he had some in the first place was a mystery to him. Regardless, he begun to cook both of them up and time passed rather idly. He was tired but… he didn't feel as tired as he normally would feel with this little amount of sleep and coffee. It was almost as if Luffy had given him some energy. 

“Food?!” Luffy's loud voice sounded from behind him. Law turned around to see a drooling Luffy with sparkling eyes. It seems like the hoodie really was too big for him, it was practically sliding off Luffy's shoulders and the sleeves covered most of his hands.

“Yeah, thought you'd be hungry. Sorry I don't eat much so I had nothing really to cook.” Law apologized as he flipped the pork over so one side wouldn't burn. 

“That's fine! I love meat!” Luffy grinned and ran over to watch Law, “I was right afterall! You _are_ a nice guy!!” 

“I've never really thought myself to be a good guy.” Law replied.

“Well you're not a bad guy so that means you're a good guy!” Luffy grinned and for whatever ungodly reason tried to grab the pork straight from the still very much on pan with his bare hands. Law smacked the hand away with a soft chuckle.

“Just wait, it'll be done cooking in a few minutes. You'll burn your hand if you do that.” He warned Luffy who just puffed his cheeks out in reply.

“But I'm hungry now…” Luffy whined childishly. 

“Just 3 more minutes, be patient.” Before Law realized it, he was gently ruffling the others hair that was surprisingly soft and still a little damp from his shower. Luffy didn't seem to mind in the least. In fact, Luffy was grinning. 

“Alright!” Luffy jokingly saluted and ran off to the table to 'patiently’ wait for food. Law smiled softly and returned to cooking the food the other was wanting to badly. He didn't even realize how much he's been smiling in such a short amount of time. Luffy began to play with his straw hat that was previously dangling from his neck and humming to pass the time. 

‘I don't eat much and he probably doesn't _get_ to eat much so I'll just give him more.’ Law quickly decided as he put most of what he cooked on Luffy's plate, the leftovers going on his own. 

“Here, it's ready. Told you it'd be ready soon.” Law handed the plate to Luffy who was making excited grabby hands. 

“Food food!!” He immediately dug in like a wild animal. Looks like he doesn't have much table manners. Not that Law really cared in the first place. 

“Ish goo’! Thah’nks!!” Luffy said in the middle of eating, spreading food everywhere. Law will have to clean that later but that's future Law's problem. 

“No problem. Sorry it's not much.” Law gave a nod as he took a bite of his own food. 

“Du'h wo'eeh 'bout it! 'Avent had any meat in fo'evah sho I'm re'eh happy!” Luffy made a loud gulp before flashing a grin. Law ate the last of his food and despite having much much less than what Luffy had, he still somehow finished after him.

“Well, my bedroom is over there so if you need me, that's where I'll be.” Law said as he pointed to the direction of his bedroom, “I won't be sleeping anytime soon so you won't be bothering me. You can sleep wherever you want.” he looked up to see Luffy frowning. 

“... What's wrong?”

“You look sleepy, why aren't you sleeping anytime soon?” Luffy replied with the frown still on his face. 

“I told you, insom-” 

“Just beat it up!” Luffy insisted. Beat it up?

“You can't beat up insomnia-” He didn't even get to finish as Luffy stood up and stormed over, grabbing Law's wrist. 

“Don't just let it win! You look like you're about to collapse any second and I don't like that! You're my friend now and I don't want you collapsing!” Luffy huffed and dragged Law over to where Law had previously pointed to. Wait. Friend? They barely know each other what- 

“I'm fine, I'm always like this.” Law tried to convince him. Luffy took a lucky guess on which room was Law's and stormed in dragging Law behind him. Law was tossed onto his own bed, cutting off further excuses. Luffy sat himself down criss cross on the floor with a huff,

“'M not leaving until you sleep so you don't collapse.” Law's sleep deprived brain slowly ticked.

“What? Luffy-ya I said-” 

“Bleeeh! Not listening to excuses!” Luffy stuck out his tongue and covered his ears. Was this actually happening? Some random homeless kid was telling him _he_ looked bad and needed to sleep? He looked that bad? He seriously doubted he could sleep though, but it didn't seem like Luffy would budge. 

'Guess I'll fake sleep.’ Law decided with a sigh. He threw the blankets over himself and plopped his head down onto the pillow. Time to remain completely still for who knows how long until Luffy leaves. Well, that's something he's already used to anyhow. But surprisingly… he dozed off. And before he knew it-- he was asleep. A dreamless sleep without his usual nightmares he got whenever he actually managed to fall asleep. 

 

On a rainy, stormy day, Law got some well needed sleep, and picked up a straw hat wearing stray.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I have a thing for people picking Luffy up like a stray animal-


	2. Smile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Law smiles and both Penguin and Shachi are shocked. Meanwhile Law is having a great time with the stray he picked up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This honestly took me so long to write and I don't even know why, I had basically the entire ch outline I just needed to like... Connect the dots

Law awoke to an empty room. He sighed out and rubbed his burning eyes as he sat up. So apparently he can only sleep if there's a completely random homeless stranger at his place huh? 

“Well. Time to see how much was stolen.” Law mumbled to himself as he left the room. As he was walking to his kitchen to prepare himself a coffee before checking how many hundreds of thousands of dollars he'd be missing, he felt a breeze. Last he checked, he didn't leave his window open. He turned to see his balcony door wide open and a small boy sitting down wearing one of his old hoodies that was very much oversized on him with his legs through the bars, humming and swaying side to side as the straw hat hanging off his neck swayed with him. So he was still here? As if noticing Law's presence, Luffy perked up and turned around, Law was able to see the large white fluffy dog Luffy was hugging.

“Oh! Morning Torao! Didja beat nomia?” He flashed a grin. Law supposed nomia was as close to insomnia Luffy was going to get. 

“For today it seems.” Law shrugged. The dog who was staring off who knows where, ears twitched at Law's voice and immediately turned around, giving a happy bark upon seeing Law. Luffy get go of the dog and it ran over to Law with a wagging tail. 

“Hey boy, excited that the rain is gone?” Law bent down and scratched the dog behind their ear, earning a happy yip and an impossibly faster tail wag. 

“I didn't know you had a dog! He tackled me once the rain was gone and we got along after that. He's so big and fluffy compared to Chopper!” Luffy kept grinning even as he stood up and plopped his hat back on. 

“Chopper?” Law looked over at him as Luffy came over to pet the fluffy dog. 

“A little stray dog that follows me and Zoro around. Sanji said he's a toy poodle or something.” Law did not know who this Zoro was, but the first guys name drew his attention, 

“Do you mean Blackleg-ya who works at the Baratie?” 

“Oh. You know him?” Luffy looked up. Wait. 

“Are you 'The stupid shitty idiot who eats half his Goddamn stock’?” Luffy laughed at that and nodded.

“Yup! Sanji gives me and Zoro leftovers! But sometimes I sneak in to try to steal some food. I always get kicked out by him though.” 

“Yes. That normally happens when you try to steal something without paying…” 

“Aw but even though Sanji kicks me really hard and curses at me, he usually ends up cooking a meal for me anyways. He's a nice guy!” And that he was. As long as you somehow didn't piss Sanji off, he was actually pretty nice and polite. Although he'll completely ditch you once a lady comes into the picture. He's known Sanji for awhile, since high school, really. He doesn't know much about Sanji's past, he avoided anything involving his childhood really. It wasn't his business though, so he never probed into it. Besides, he has a feeling their childhoods are probably pretty similar. 

They were both absolute shit. 

But more importantly, “I'll start cooking breakfast, want some?” 

Luffy immediately threw up his hands, “I do!” He beamed with that blinding smile of his. 

“Alright, this time, try not to grab the uncooked food straight from the burning pan?” Law gave a ghost of a smirk, only for it to grow when Luffy pouted. 

“Fine~” 

“Now, all I really have are eggs and some bacon, that's fine right?” 

“Perfectly.” Luffy nodded eagerly, it seems like he's already drooling. Law made a huff through his nose that was actually a laugh and stood up, and left to go to the kitchen. ~~But not before ruffling Luffy's hair.~~ He popped the stove on and grabbed the egg carton and bacon. He was no chef, but he can at least cook eggs and bacon. While the bacon was cooking and giving off a nice smell, he could see Luffy impatiently standing up from the corner of his eye. 

“Stop.” It really did feel like he was scolding a dog, “It's not even cooked yet, you'll get sick if you eat it anyways.” 

“But I'm huuungryyyy~” Luffy whined and sat back down with a pout, childishly kicking his legs. Law rolled his eyes.

“Well being hungry isn't going to make it cook any faster.” Law replied. Luffy booed. Same as yesterday it seems Law heard Luffy hum after a few minutes passed, it was horrible, but interesting to say in the least. His phone buzzed from inside his pants and sighed. Right. Work. At least he had an afternoon shift today… but that also means he comes home later. Damn. He pulled out his phone and sure enough, it was a message from work informing him that work was in an hour. Wonderful. Could they give any shorter of a notice?

 

“Woaaaaaah! Is that one of those super cool phones?!” Luffy suddenly exclaimed.

“... You mean a smartphone?” 

“Yeah yeah!” How Luffy didn't hurt his head from nodding that fast slightly amazed Law. 

“Yeah, it is. Why?” 

“So cool!! I've never had one before!!” Luffy's eyes turned to sparkles like when he first saw Siri in the car.

“... Never?” 

“Nope! Before I was homeless we didn't have the money for one, we had one of those flippy phones with buttons and stuff.” Luffy smiled, but it wasn't like his usual blindingly bright smiles that seemed to light up the entire room for Law. It was small, his eyes filled with a mix of happiness and somehow also sadness and longing. He didn't think Luffy could make a smile like that. It caught Law off guard. 

“I heard once he was trying to save money to buy me a smartphone for my birthday.” Law didn't ask who's 'he’, and he probably shouldn't have said anything further at this point, but he did. 

“He didn't get to?” 

“Nope. Something came up, but I wasn't really mad. Besides,” Luffy flashed a grin, this time it was his blinding smile, “I'm homeless now! A homeless guy wouldn't have any use for a smartphone right?” 

Law smiled, relieved his question didn't touch a sore spot, “Probably not. You'd just end up getting mugged.” He joked. 

“I'm strong! I can hold my own in a fight! But a phone can't make me not hungry so I rather have food than a smartphone.” 

“That's a good way of thinking I guess. Anyways, foods ready.” Law chuckled when Luffy began bouncing up and down in his seat wildly with a huge stupid grin on his face. He seemed more like a dog than his actual dog. 

“Calm down calm down, it's still hot.” Law reminded as he placed the plate down in front of Luffy-- who completely ignored his warning and immediately took a bite of the bacon, only to cry out.

“IT'S HOT!” 

“Yes, that's what I just tried to tell you.” Law raised an amused brow and handed Luffy a cup of water which was quickly snatched and downed. 

“I wish being hungry made it cool down faster…” Luffy frowned. 

“If that was the case, It'd be ice cold now.” He reminded as he sat down to actually eat for once. Even if it was just eggs, he wasn't really a fan of greasy food so Law didn't even know why he had bacon in the first place. 

“I have work in an hour but you can stay here if you want.” What the fuck possessed Law to offer this random homeless guy to not only stay the night but to continue staying while he'll be _miles away from his extremely expensive apartment without supervision_ was beyond him. But he offered it anyways, “But I would like to come back to my apartment in one piece without everything gone, yeah?” Yeah because yelling someone not to do something definitely always works. 

“Shishi! M’ not gonna steal, that's Nami's thing!” Luffy snickered. Nami sounded an awful lot like one of the girls Sanji swooned over on a daily basis, but whatever. 

“Well, don't do Nami's thing then.” 

“Ok! Ace always told me to always repay nice people and people who give you food! And you're both so that means I really gotta be good!” Luffy chirped with a dorky grin. Another name drop on someone Law didn't know but if he was actually not going to steal, better for him. Even if it won't really do much damage to his budget, it'd still be a pain to come back with everything stolen. 

“Great. Well I have to get ready to go get the life sucked out of me, aka go to work. And- oi! Don't feed Bepo bacon!” Both Luffy and the big fluffy dog looked over at him, Bepo chewing on a piece of bacon Luffy just handed to him.

“Eh? Why not? He looked like he wanted it.” 

“It's bad for dogs, you'll get him sick. He's already old so that makes it worse.” Luffy looked absolutely shocked,

“Ehhh?! Seriously?! But it tastes so good!!” He yelled.

“Just because it tastes good to you, that doesn't mean that it's actually good _for_ you. Take this from a heart doctor.” Law sighed, silently scolding Bepo by glaring at him. The dog whimpered as its ears flopped down. No those puppy eyes won't work on him. He's already used to that. 

“I thought you were a super doctor.” 

“ _Surgeon_ , Luffy-ya. But I also specialize in hearts. I'm a cardiothoracic surgeon and a cardiologist, but I can also just do surgery in general.” 

“... Huh. That's cool.” 

“You didn't get any of that, did you?” 

“Nuh-uh.” Luffy replied without missing a beat. Law sighed and stood up, he hardly ate again but who cares?

“Well, it doesn't really matter anyways. Just don't give Bepo any table food. I really do need to get ready for work though.” He quickly walked over to the kitchen to make coffee so that it'll be ready when he's leaving. He left Luffy to play with Bepo and finish eating while hopefully not giving any of that food to Bepo like he told him to. Law quickly did his usual routine that he's been doing for years, when he looked in the mirror, he still looked like death. But less like death than usual. When he was already and locking the door, he heard the familiar pitter patter of Bepo running up to see him off sounded. Law smiled and bent down, petting him.

“Sorry boy, gotta go. I'll be home late again today.” Bepo whined but continued wagging his tail. Now there was another pitter patter and he looked up to see a just as excited Luffy running up. 

“Leaving?” 

Law nodded and stood up, “Yeah. I hope to come back to my apartment unchanged.” Without thinking much about it, he ruffled Luffy's hair much how he had pet Bepo. 

“Shishi! I can play with Alexa and Bepo right?” 

“Sure, just don't push Bepo too much, he's pretty old, had him for awhile.” Bepo made a whine of protest at that, but Luffy saluted anyways. 

“Roger!” With that, he grinned and ran off screaming Alexa much louder than what was needed, Bepo following suit with a wagging tail and happy yip. 

 

.x.

 

One 4 hour surgery, and a emergency surgery that came up and has been working on for 2 hours already, having a short break before having to switch and return to it later.

Slow day, really. 

“You look less dead today, actually slept for once?” Penguin asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee. Law lazily turned to him and shrugged, leaning into the God awful flat as hell chairs that he wished the hospital would change already considering how many hours they all work. He'd used to get pissed off when patients would complain about the waiting being too long while they sat on those nice leather and fancy chairs they were given. But now he just got used to it, but he would still rather have better chairs.

“Yeah I,” Luffy's completely serious face as he dragged Law to his room telling him to beat up his insomnia came into his head, making Law smile a bit, “I beat up my insomnia last night.” Penguin's jaw dropped, along with his cheap paper cup filled with the just as cheap coffee their break rooms had. He was staring wide eyed at Law and ignoring the puddle of coffee at his feet.

“... What?” Law rose a brow. Penguin just stood there, blinking and mouth opening and closing like a fish before he raised his hand and pointed to Law,

“You smiled.” 

“... Ok?” Law continued to stare at Penguin in confusion as he took a sip of his own cup of coffee. Bitter without a lick of sweetness to it, with a flavour that remained on your tongue no matter how much water you drank after. Just the way he liked it.

“Holy fuck he smiled.” Penguin took a step back as he covered his mouth with his hand. 

“Was it scary or something?” Penguin obviously wasn't listening in the least as he bolted off (something you shouldn't do in a hospital) screaming:

“SHACHI! CAPTAIN SMILED!!” A distant “WHAT?!” Was heard back and Penguin ran over to it. Now Law sat alone in the break room with only cheap coffee to accompany him. Is it that rare for him to smile? He was a little shit in high school, and later on he'd always go out to drink with everyone, having a good time. That was only… 

Fuck. 

How long ago _was_ that? When did that stop? What happened to the little shit Trafalgar that would always fight with that Kidd fucker just to piss him off? Wonder what that Smoker guy is doing now, he'd always try to push each and every one of his buttons by having parties and a bunch of minors blasting music and drinking their asses off, most of them also getting high as fuck. He'd flip him off with a shit eating smirk and always manage to get away from him… except one time. That was pretty bad. Hell, all the tattoos he got were from high school and a few from when he first became a surgeon. This job really sucked out all of his energy and changed that. Now he was just Trafalgar Law, top surgeon of the country who has too much money and looks like death, he can't even bother to really smile half the time. No wonder Penguin acted like that. He probably hadn't seen Law actually smile in years. Even the real smiles that weren't tired he gave Bepo were sparse. 

Great

He thought he stopped bothering to think about all of this a long time ago. 

Penguin came running into the room again but this time with Shachi also. 

“CAPTAIN!! IS IT TRUE YOU SMILED?!” Sachi screamed breathlessly. Law simply turned to him and took a sip of his coffee.

“I guess.” Shachi and Penguin ran up to him, Shachi grabbing Law's shoulder,

“HOW AND WHY?!?” Law gave a shrug, drinking the rest of the coffee in a single gulp and cocking a smirk that only further shocked the two. 

“Was thinking about how I'll probably come back home to my apartment either destroyed, robbed, or both.” He crushed the paper cup and chucked it into the trash can from where he was sitting, giving a satisfied huff when he made the shot perfectly. 

“I- what happened? You're like… less dead than usual. Like a tired version of your previous self- also what do you mean about your apartment being robbed or destroyed?” Penguin eyed him up and down, as if who he was looking at was not Law and in fact someone else. Law shrugged again, this time getting Shachi's hand off of his shoulder and stood up, sparing a glance at the clock. Breaks over, great. Back to surgery. 

“I told you, I beat up insomnia last night. Obviously I'm still tired because one night of sleep isn't going to make me all fucking sunshine and rainbows, but it's better than nothing I guess.” Law sighed out as he cracked his neck, turning to look at the two who both looked beyond dumbfounded with their fallen jaws and their stupefied faces. It made a smirk grow on his face, a certain smirk that felt so distantly familiar and right. He almost forgot that he could make that smirk. Something tugged at him to say his next words with a snarky tone he had also forgotten he could do,

“Oh. And I kinda picked up a stray.”

 

.x.

 

Law returned to a quiet apartment, these snacks he had bought were either going to sit somewhere to rot and forgotten, or go to Luffy if nothing's been stolen or broken. The door was still left locked though so hey, that's a plus. He kicked off his shoes and hung up his coat, it was pitch dark in the apartment with no lights on and it being night and all.

“Alexa, turn on the lights.” 

“Ok.” Great, so his Amazon Echo Plus wasn't stolen at least. That's another plus. As Law walked passed the hallway, he heard snoring coming from his living room. When he walked over to his couch where the snoring was coming from, he was met with a truly amusing sight. Luffy's head was completely lolled back and hanging almost upside down from the armrest, one of his legs weren't even on the couch at this point anymore- But the best part? Bepo, covering almost the entirety of Luffy's body, was on top of him with his head shoved inside of Luffy's (Law's) hoodie for some reason, and also snoring away with the very much drooling Luffy. He snorted and looked around. Nothing was broken, and nothing seemed missing either. So looks like these snacks will actually be eaten then. He placed the bags down and snapped a pic, purposely using the flash.

“Huh whuh-?” Luffy sat up and blinked, looking around. 

“I'm quite intrigued on how you can sleep like that.” Bepo's tail popped up at Law's voice. Bepo seemed to have a bit of a struggle getting out from under the hoodie, but when he did he came running over to Law like the excited dog he was. 

“Oh Torao! What was that flash?” Luffy picked up his straw hat that was on the floor besides him and placed it on his head.

“Picture, found it amusing.” Law replied with a smirk.

“Oh! Oh! Can I see?!” He skidded over and nearly fell on his face if it wasn't for the fact Law caught him.

“Sure, be careful.” Law showed him the screen as he steadied the other up.

“Woah! Bepo looks a lot bigger in the picture!” 

“He doesn't get any bigger from pictures, Luffy-ya. He just looks bigger because you're small.” 

“Ohhhh. Torao's smart.” That wasn't really rocket science but ok. Law turned off his phone and put it away, making Luffy pout. But that quickly changed with Law's next line,

“Anyways, want some dinner?” 

“YEAH!” 

 

.x.

 

“Torao looks like he's thinking a lot.” Luffy commented as he continued to eat his dinner in a way that defied each and every table manner possible. 

“Yeah, I was thinking about the past.” Law replied as he took a bite of his own dinner, a simple rice ball. 

“Huh. So like old people do-” Law flicked Luffy's forehead, “-ow.” 

“I'm only 26.” Law pointed out. He was not that old, thank you very much. 

“Sorry” Luffy replied unapologetically and Law could only roll his eyes.

“Back then, I would do all kinds of shit. My favorite passing time was pissing off Eustass-ya and Smoker-”

“Oh! You know Smokey?” Luffy suddenly cut in.

“Smokey?” 

“You’re talking about the big white haired cop who always has like 2 cigarettes in his mouth right?” 

“Yeah, that walking talking cancer cell.” Law nodded.

“I know him! But he hates me because I accidently set his car on fire.” 

“You what.”

“I set his car on fire.” He repeated.

“No I heard you but- _how?_ ”

“Well like… I think it was last year? Yeah, it was on New Year's and I found some discarded fireworks. Thought it would be fun to light them. I had found a good spot, there was a cop car there but no one in there so I ignored it. I lit the firework but… it didn't go up. It flew right behind me instead and hit the car, lighting it on fire… and the cop car happened to be Smokey's. And Smokey also just happened to be returning when that happened. He's been chasing me since, he'll drop everything he's doing to go after me if he sees me, even if he's not on duty.” Law suddenly laughed, and was reminded of a very similar incident. 

“Ha! Sounds like something I did a few years back.” He said, Luffy looked over at him with a head tilt.

“You caught his car on fire too?” 

Law shook his head, “Nah. I doused his car in lube.” Luffy just stared at him and blinked.

“I was drunk and messing around with friends when I ordered all that lube. And I was also drunk and messing around with friends when I decided to pour said lube on his car.” 

“What’s lube?” What.

“You're kidding, right?” Law prayed that he was.

“No?”

“... How old are you?” Maybe he should've asked that way sooner.

“19, why?” Luffy clinked his head again. He's got to be kidding. Did whoever took care of him before not give him a sex ed lesson? Like, ever? He's not up for giving some homeless kid one, not his job nor responsibility.

“Nevermind. Basically, I ruined his car just to annoy the hell out of him.” 

“Shishi! Sounds like fun! I tried to apologize once but Smokey just tried to arrest me instead.” Luffy snickered.

“Yeah that would happen. Besides, he's not going to forgive you with just an apology. He'd be somewhat satisfied to see your ass behind bars for awhile though, I learned that personally.” Law had just barely finished his first riceball whereas Luffy had already ate about 3 plates of food. 

“Aw, but I don't want to be behind bars at all.” Luffy puffed out his cheek. Law couldn't tell if that was a pout or him storing food but either way it was amusing to see.

Law took a bite of his second riceball, “Oh great, doesn't this mean I'm sheltering a wanted man?” He snorted. 

“Isn't Torao also a wanted man?” 

“Nope. Got caught by him once. Spent my time behind bars for a bit because of that.” 

“Aw, no fair.” Yeah that was definitely a pout. 

“Well, just don't let him catch you, I guess.” He shrugged and finished his second riceball, giving his last one to Luffy which was practically inhaled. Well now Sanji can't call and pester him about wasting food because there's a vacuum here. 

“I should get to bed, if I can at least. Earlier shift tomorrow.” Law stood up and brought his plate to the sink, “Do me a favour and don't rob or kill me in my sleep.” 

“Alright! Nighty!” 

“Night” …

…

 

..

 

…. Yeah it was night alright. But did that mean sleep?

 

No it did not. 

 

Law flipped and turned and God fucking dammit why can't he sleep. He slept fine yesterday, and that pissed him off. He had gotten so used to not being able to sleep to the point he had stopped caring, but then all of a sudden sleep comes in for one day only and now he wants sleep again. After who knows how many minutes that felt much longer than they really were, Law gave up. He turned on his lamp, deciding to read one of his boring medical books until 5am and hopefully pass out for maybe 2 hours. Law got a few pages in before a head popped into his room. 

“Need something?” Law looked away from the medical knowledge he already knew and turned to Luffy who was now standing in his room. 

“Yeah, can I sleep with you?” What.

“What.” Law ended up saying aloud. 

“I don't like sleeping alone, and the big dog is with you.” Ok so actual sleeping, not what Law was thinking. That's… less bad? But every fiber and atom of his being screamed 'Hey, maybe letting a homeless guy you've known for no longer than a day into your bed while you sleep, isn't the brightest of ideas’. 

“I mean sure I guess.” Maybe Law wasn't as smart as he originally thought. But how Luffy immediately lit up and seemed to wag a non existent tail as he crawled onto the other side of the bed was worth it, Law supposed. Bepo looked up when the bed dipped slightly from Luffy weight but didn't seem bothered if his wagging tail and how he went up to lie next to Luffy was any give away. Well, they both seemed happy so it was fine. Probably. Luffy was curled up next to Bepo and snoring away in a matter of seconds, which made Law rather jealous since he probably won't be getting any sleep for hours. 

Except he did.

About an hour later, his head started drooping and his eyes felt heavy, a common feeling really. But what wasn't common was the fact he felt like he could actually sleep. Law rubbed his slightly burning eyes and put the medical book on his nightstand, turning the lamp off in the process. Luffy's snoring had only gotten louder, and he should really be annoyed but for whatever reason he wasn't. In fact, it somehow helped him fall asleep… 

 

… Law awoke in the morning to Luffy's face being smothered under Bepo, how was he even breathing? He poked Bepo, waking him up and getting him off of Luffy's face, then poked Luffy next. 

“Oi, Luffy-ya, you alive?” No reaction. He poked him again, this time stirring the boy. 

“Mmn… Torao..?” Luffy blinked and slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes. 

“Oh. You're alive. Bepo somehow ended up on your face so I thought he suffocated you to death.” 

“No but… my throat really burns…” Luffy mumbled as he brought his hands to his throat. 

“You probably inhaled like half of Bepo's fur in your sleep so I'm not surprised. Want some water?” Luffy nodded, still obviously half asleep. Law got up and left the room, shortly returning with a glass of water and handing it to Luffy. He picked up his phone and checked the time, about an hour and a half before work unless they make him come in early. 

“Want me to start cooking breakfast?” Luffy immediately lit up and filled with his usual childish and excited energy,

“Yeah!” 

 

Cooking has been the same as it has been the past few times. Trying and failing to get Luffy to sit still even though it hasn't even been a full minute yet. He just bought some Eggo waffles for Luffy but he still seemed extremely excited when they popped out of the toaster, bouncing up and down in his chair. 

“I love those!! I haven't had eaten them for over 2 years!!” He beamed, already trying to snatch the plate from Law who was pouring syrup on it for him.

“It's just… Eggo waffles though.” Law replied as he served Luffy, he wasn't really a fan of sweets, much less waffles, so decided coffee for breakfast was the next best thing. 

“Doesn't mean it isn't tasty!” Luffy stuck out his tongue before immediately stuffing his face with the waffles. He was making a complete mess on his face, but Luffy didn't seem to care in the least. 

“Oh right, you're free to stay here as long as you like. As long as I come back to my apartment in one piece and nothing stolen, you know, the usual. And I forgot to tell you that I bought snacks last night, they're over there.” Law motioned to a bag on the counter before taking a sip of his coffee. 

“Really?! Snacks?!?! You're a real nice guy, Torao!” Luffy got up and ran over to the bag, scavenging the contents excitedly.

“I mean I guess. I really got nothing else to do but go to work, come home, and repeat.” Law shrugged. 

“Huh. Sounds boring. Don't you have days off?” Luffy looked up as he was tearing open a pack of beef jerky. Law just bought a few of everything he saw really. 

“I do but never really had anything to do so I did nothing.” 

“I wouldn't be able to do that, I'd go crazy if I didn't have any time for fun!” Luffy chewed on the beef jerky as he said that.

“Well what did you do before you were, you know, homeless? If you don't mind me asking that is.” 

“Oh I didn't have a job. No one would take me, I was 17 at the time and I didn't finish high school so.” He replied.

“Wait- so you've been homeless for _2 years_ now?” 

“...Huh. Guess it has been that long. Didn't notice. Well, it wasn't bad. I had my friends.” Luffy gave a shrug and entertained himself by further scurrying through the bag. 

“Whatever works for you I guess, can't judge. I have to get ready for work, don't steal anything or feed Bepo and of those snacks yada yada, same as yesterday.” Law downed the rest of his coffee to head to the bathroom to shower, get dressed, and look a little less like death. Same as yesterday, two instead of one came to see him off when he left, both receiving a head rustle and both looking pleased from it. 

“Cya Torao!!” Luffy waved and Bepo barked, tail wagging. Law gave a nod to the both of them and left.

 

_Meanwhile…_

 

“Still can't find him?” A green haired man wearing a beat up white shirt and green haramaki sighed. He got a whine in reply. 

“I get that you can smell him here but he's obviously _not_ here anymore. Can't you find where he went at least?” He crossed his arms. 

“Bark!” 

“Seriously? Dammit, why did it have to rain?” He groaned and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Bark bark!” 

“Jeez...where did that idiot run off to? You can't find any tails on even the direction he went?” The dog sniffed the bench and looked around, only to turn back to the green haired man and whine. 

“Damn. Why is that idiot always running off on his own and getting lost… WHAT WAS THAT HUFF AND LOOK FOR?!” 

“Mommy, that green haired guy is talking to his dog.” A little girl said. 

“Shush, don't look at him.” The mother hushed as she made her child walk faster. 

“Fuck. Whatever. I'm going to sleep.” The man ignored the conversation behind him and instead sat on the bench the dog was sniffing. But the moment he closed his eyes, the dog bit his ankle.

“Ow! What the fuck Chopper?!” He jumped up and snarled at the small dog.

“Bark bark!” 

“I AM looking for him!”

“Bark!” 

“Ok- I at least tried! He'll show up eventually like usual anyways.” 

“Bark bark bark!” 

“Alright then, what do _you_ think we should do, huh?” 

“... Bark.” 

“See? We can't just run around the city looking for him, he could be anywhere. We already checked the usual spots too.” The man sighed again and relaxed into the bench.

“... Bark bark.” 

“Just calm down and wait for him to show up again. I doubt he's in danger. If he was, I wouldn't be sitting here doing nothing, alright?” 

“Bark!” The little dog began to wag its tail, seemingly satisfied.

“Mommy, he's still talking to the dog.” The little girl pointed to him. 

“Shhhh!!” The mother hushed again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALSO HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEPO, WHAT A GREAT BEAR


	3. Adventure isn't as fun without friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luffy gets bored and decides to head out for awhile. It doesn't go as... Ah there was never any plan in the first place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgot to mention, but the Law dousing Smokers car in lube was actually based from [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nakmqsGaetQ&t=425s) lmao. A 55 gallon drum of lube for sell on Amazon, yes it's a thing (skip to 00:30) Anyways, originally this was gonna be two separate chapters, but somehow I fused the prewritten one and the one I started. Hope you enjoy!

“I'm boredddd...” 

“Bark!” Luffy rolled over onto his back, lifting Bepo's massive body above his head, peering up at the panting and excited dog. 

“Alexa is no fun anymore, she can't shoot lasers or transform! She can only play music or stuff on the TV. Messing with the lights is boring now that Torao isn't here to get mad.” He pouted, gently dropping Bepo next to him. Bepo whined and licked his face. 

“Hnnnnnnn… Torao isn't here so I'm bored. Alright!” He suddenly sat up, startling Bepo, “Imma go on an adventure!” Luffy headed over to the door but stopped before his hand reached the handle.

“Ah. I don't have the key. Ace always got mad at me when I left the door unlocked after leaving, do you think Torao would get mad if I do that?” He turned to Bepo who barked. 

“Thought so…” He hummed and looked around, spotting the balcony door, “Perfect!” Luffy lit up and ran to the door, throwing it open and slamming the door close behind him. He went up to the bars and peered down at the distant ground. Huh. Four floors down. He heard Bepo whine from behind the door.

“I'll be back! I still haven't thanked Torao for the food!” Luffy promised before ‘planning’ his landing out. He glanced at the large tree on the side, a bit of a leap, but nothing he couldn't handle.

 

Probably.

 

Without thinking twice, Luffy leaped for the branch and _barely_ made it. It was making some pretty dangerous sounding creaks but no matter. He aimed for the next branch, knowing full well he wouldn't make the landing. Which was fine, Luffy thought to himself as he jumped towards it, because he didn't plan on landing on it anyways. Instead, he grabbed it with one hand and swung himself towards a farther branch that was more further down, using that one instead to land. After that, Luffy was close enough to just jump off of the tree (by his standards at least), so he did. And he landed in front of a very startled old man. Luffy turned towards the poor trembling old man who looked just about ready to faint. He planned on just ignoring the guy, but his old landlord's lessons rung in his head. 

“Ah. Good afternoon.” He bowed. Manners manners, Ace would be so proud! Luffy hummed and ran away, excited for his adventure. Maybe the nearby shopping district? Yeah! There's always cool stuff out! Not that he could buy them, unfortunately. But it's still fun to look at them! Luffy sped up and ran faster, careful to remember where he was leaving from. Can't be getting lost, that's Zoro's job! 

 

.x.

 

Luffy kept getting weird stares, probably because he was walking around outside in the odd combination of sandals, a straw hat, Torao's oversized hoodie, and shorts that were a bit big as well. The sleeves of the hoodie was covering the entirety of his hands, but he didn't mind too much. Everytime Luffy saw something cool on display through the windows, he'd press himself up against it until he was chased off by the owner of wherever he was at. He'd been cooped up for a few days, which was fun at first, but Luffy craved adventure! Luffy continued walking around and occasionally following pigeons until his eyes turned into _sparkles_ when he spotted a giant mecha display. He _threw_ himself against the glass, almost as if he were attempting to fuse with it, and ‘woaaaah’ed at the large display, unminding of the looks he received from the other people.

“Hey hey, isn’t this cool, Zoro-” Ah. Luffy deflated when he remembered neither Zoro nor Chopper was with him. He was alone-

“STRAW HAAAAAAAAT!!!” 

 

_Uh oh._

 

“Geh-! Smokey!!” Luffy whipped his head around to see the one and only police officer Smoker chasing after him, except he was obviously off-duty since he was wearing casual clothes rather than his uniform. He immediately took off into a mad dash to escape capture. 

“YOU WON’T ESCAPE!!” 

 

“GYAAAAAH!!!! LEAVE ME ALONE, I CAN’T BE CAPTURED!! I HAVEN’T THANKED TORAO YET!!!” He screamed and made the mistake to look back, only to see a furious Smoker on his tail with his _baton_ already out, _and it **really** looked like he had plans on using it._ Why did he even have his baton when he was off-duty?! Luffy gulped and sped up, running between an alleyway which was a dead end. Or, a dead end to most. There was a dumpster against a tall wall, but the dumpster itself wouldn’t be enough to get him or anyone really over the wall. But luckily, there was a steel ladder on the wall not too far from him. Luffy jumped onto the top of the dumpster only to leap right off of it and latch onto the ladder. He heard a loud BANG and turned to see where he was once standing on the dumpster for only a second now a worryingly deep indent from Smoker’s baton. Ouch. That woulda been nasty if he got hit by that. 

“Wait, Straw Hat! Stop the futile running and turn yourself in already!!” Smoker tried to swing the baton at Luffy but missed as Luffy jumped off of the ladder and onto the top of the wall. 

“No wayyy!!” Luffy stuck his tongue out at Smoker and jumped off, running away. And he ran and ran and ran. Running from Smokey was always fun, at least Luffy thought so. Turns out it isn’t so fun when it’s by yourself without your friends. It wasn’t fun at all. He didn’t hear Smoker anymore, but kept running anyways until he was out of breath and panting. Then he ran again, but this time to hurl. With heavy breaths and unsteady legs, Luffy tries to steady himself. His now empty stomach growls, and his first thought is Baratie. But it’s nearly a hour walk from where he’s at, and he doesn’t really see himself making it there. Sighing, Luffy reaches for the hat dangling behind his neck and places it upon his head. 

 

“Guess I’ll head back.” 

 

.x.

 

Law returns to an empty apartment. He was let off a bit earlier than usual, and found that his apartment only contained his usual items and his dog. Well, at least nothing _seemed_ damaged or stolen. So that’s good, he supposed. But now he has this food he really doesn’t have the desire to eat. Throwing it away would be a waste really. He’ll find some way to use the food. Maybe he’ll give it to some homeless person or a stray dog- 

 

Did his balcony door just fucking open?

 

Guess he’s dying today, or getting robbed. Or both. A loud crash and thud followed, if someone is planning on murdering him, can't they at least do it quietly? Sighing, Law went over to see who exactly this madman who climbed four floors just to rob him was. To his surprise, he finds not some burly robber in black with weapons, but the very person he thought who left, Luffy. And on the floor face first for some reason. 

“Thought you left, what are you doing entering through the balcony and lying on the floor dead?” Law went from slightly amused to slightly worried when he noticed Luffy's ragged breath and struggle to push himself up. 

“Oh. Hey Torao, you're back early.” Was the first thing Luffy said as he flopped himself over to his back, a breathless snicker leaving his lips, “I got bored so went on an adventure… Smokey saw me and started chasing me again.” He stood up only to fall with a little 'oof’. 

“You're showing signs of dehydration. How much did you run?” Law furrowed his brows and went over to Luffy, putting his fingers to Luffy's wrist and feeling his pulse. Saying it felt like Luffy ran a mile would be an understatement. 

“Uh… dunno.” Luffy ever so helpfully supplied. Sighing, Law got up and quickly headed to the kitchen, grabbing some bottled water before hurrying back to the other. 

“Have you thrown up at all yet?” He asked as he handed the bottled water over to Luffy. Luffy took the water and drank it half empty in one gulp. 

“Yeah, twice. How'd ya know?” 

“... I'm surprised you didn't pass out in the middle of the street.” Law rubbed his temples, “Can you stand? You should move to the couch.” Nodding, Luffy grabbed his water and attempted to stand up again.

“Alrighty- woah-” A stumble, but he caught himself. Seeing how shaky Luffy's legs were, Law assumed he probably won't make it to the couch. So he wrapped an arm around Luffy's waist and helped him. The moment Luffy was on the couch, his stomach growled. 

“F-Fooooooood…” He groaned. 

Law could only roll his eyes, “Of course food is your main concern and not water. I brought food, but drink your water first.” Luffy nodded again and began chugging down the water, emptying it before Law even left the room. Luckily it didn't seem like Luffy needed emergency care, which is good since he's homeless and probably has no real way to pay for the bill. Law quickly turned the AC up and grabbed a towel, dampening it in cool water before grabbing the food and heading back to Luffy.

“Fooo-”

“Yeah yeah, I got your food.” He handed (really Luffy snatched it) the takeout to Luffy and carefully placed the damp towel on his forehead. “Eat it slowly or… yeah I shouldn't have expected you to.” Law sighed as he watched Luffy inhale the food as always. He also ended up just throwing the towel on Luffy's head when it fell because he wouldn't stay still, but whatever works. 

“How are you feeling?” 

Luffy looked up and swallowed his food, “Trembling. Though 'm not cold. Also my heart is still beating real fast despite not doing anything anymore.” He replied. Law hummed, looking him over for a moment. 

“Side effects of dehydration. I'll get you another bottle of water. For now, just rest and try to keep yourself cool.” 

“Woah… you know a lot, it's almost as if you're a doctor!” 

“I _am_. I told you this, Luffy-ya.”

“Oh right. Super doctor.”

“Surgeon.”

“Same thing.” Yeah whatever. Law gave up with a sigh and left to grab yet another bottle of water for Luffy. When he returned, Luffy was very much sleep. 

“Luffy-ya, oi, Luffy-ya.” He pressed the bottle against Luffy's face, squishing it until Luffy whined and opened his eyes. “At least drink half of this before you fall asleep. You need more water.” 

“Mhm… alright.” Luffy yawned and took the bottle, not even bothering to sit up. After drinking half, he handed it back to Law and conked back out in half a second. Maybe even less. Guess Law will put the bottle in the fridge for now. Maybe he'll go to his room and do… something. Like reread that book about knowledge he already knows again for the umpteenth time… 

 

~~xxx~~

 

“Hey, old guy.” A small raven haired boy tugged on a police officer's pants, peering up at the older man. The officer looked over and knelt down, and with a kind voice he asked:

“Yes?”

“The lady, the lady who takes care of us, her fists hurt. She hits all of us and never feeds us either, she forgets about us a lot, too.” The boy tugged on the officer's pants harder, “Help us, help us please. One of my friends hasn't woken up since yesterday. Please help us.” He begged. The officer gave a warm smile, eyes crinkling up as he gently placed a hand on the small boy's head who lit up immediately. The officer looked straight at the boy and said,

 _“It’s not good to lie, you know?”_

The boy's face fell, replaced with confusion, “I'm not lying, it's true. She hits us and says mean things, locks us up in rooms with only a cup of water and bread crumbs for days. No one ever comes to take us either. I'm really telling the truth, I can't lie, I'm bad at it. Aren't you an officer? Please help us, old guy.” He tugs more and more. Each one more desperate than the last. But the officer's kind face doesn't change, nor does he move. 

“It's great to have a big imagination, but it's not good to tell such tall tales to us, we're busy.” 

“It's not, it's not a lie. Please help us, please. Another hasn't woken up today, he was my friend! Please, please!” The boy's voice cracked as he continued to tug. He tugged and tugged but the officer didn't budge. 

“Luffy!” Another boy yelled as they ran up and pulled the boy away from the officer. 

“Ace? Ace what are you doing? That's an officer, he'll help us. He'll help us, right?” Luffy pointed to the officer while turning to Ace.

“Let's go.” Ace grabbed Luffy's wrist and tugged him away.

“But Ace-” 

**“Let's go!”** He snapped, gripping Luffy's wrist so tightly Luffy flinched. He didn't complain about the amount of force, though. He was too confused as to why Ace was so mad and trying to drag him away. To drag him back.

“But he's an officer, he'll help us- huh? Old guy, where are you going? Hey? Come back!” Luffy tried to run after the officer who was leaving, but Ace kept a firm grip on Luffy and pulled him back.

“He won't come back, how many times do I have to tell you? No one's on our side here.” 

“But Gramps said that the police are good people.” 

“And that's complete bullshit. Otherwise we would've been out of that shitty place long ago.” Ace let go of Luffy's wrist and instead grabbed his hand, holding it firmly yet gently. Protectively. With care.

“Just 8 more years, Luffy. 8 more years and Sabo and I will get us out of that shitty place. We'll live together, we'll take you with us and away from there. So…” He gave the smaller hand a squeeze, “So don't… become one of the kids that don't wake up, alright?” Ace didn't turn around, but he didn't have to for Luffy to know what kind of face he was making, the slight waver in his voice gave it away. Luffy stared at the hand, giving a nod and squeezing the hand tightly in reply.

“I won't. You guys won't either, right?” 

“Of course not, stupid.” 

 

~~  
****~~

##  **#@ &*^£-*@$**+‰¡¢∆∆§^€£¥$-#××××‽‽‽¿!¡‽**

~~_Everything went mute._ ~~

~~_Luffy seemed to be screaming out sobs, but not because of the beating he was receiving. A cloth was shoved into his mouth, silencing both him and his cries. Tears poured down his face in countless amounts, eyes red and puffy but not paying any attention to the wounds to he was getting. Ace was besides him, squeezing his hand in a death grip, teeth clenched and tears also falling down his face. He said nothing no matter how many punches he received. He simply held the screaming Luffy's hand like a lifeline. When the woman finally left, Ace pulled Luffy into a tight hug, letting him break down and scream into his shirt. The kids around them had close to no reaction, simply staring off into nothing. Soon, Luffy was no longer screaming, now choking on his own sobs. He clutched Ace's shirt and buried his face into his shoulder. Ace held Luffy tighter and looked at-_ ~~

~~__~~

 

Luffy woke up with a sharp inhale, bolting up and letting out a choked scream that died out halfway. His throat clenched up and entire body trembled. He can't breathe he can't breathe he can't _breathe_. His stupid brain kept running and running and running and his heart wouldn't just shut up. Luffy wants it to shut up. He wants his brain to stop running. Stop thinking. Go away. Shut up. Shut up shut up just shut up just _stop-_

 

He jumped when something cold pressed against his cheek. 

 

“Water, drink it.” A low but calm voice said. 

Water? Why is he being handed water? He's not thirsty he just wants his brain and heart to listen to him. Who offered him water? His eyes aren't focusing very well, so blurry and darting everywhere and now not even his eyes are listening to him and- Luffy snatches the water and downs it. 

“Oh. Torao.” Was Luffy's automated reply. He forced his eyes to focus on Law who didn't seem to be showing any certain emotion. Rather blank, but it was almost as if he was making it that way. His expression didn't change as he took the now empty bottle and sat down across from Luffy on the couch. With Luffy being huddled up at the very edge, it gave Law space to have one of his legs on the couch with the other dangling off. Luffy stared at Law wondering what he was doing.

“What? Want me to leave?” Again with that monotone face, and a voice that sounded like he was trying to say 'what a pain’... Yet somehow, that seemed fake. Like he was putting up a front. Luffy didn't trust his own voice so be shook his head instead in reply. His eyes followed Law's hand which slowly raised and motioned for him to get closer. He tilted his head but did so- only for his head to be grabbed and pushed down against Law's chest. He could hear Law's even heartbeat thump in a slow, even rhythm. Luffy found himself trying to hear more of it.

“Your hair is surprisingly soft despite how raggy it looks.” Law's voice was silvery yet so soothingly low. Luffy's once panic stricken wide eyes now drooped, tense shoulders slacking as the even thump thump thump of Law's heart continued.

“I heard that before, I think.” Luffy replied, eyes fluttering shut when Law's long fingers gently ran through and massaged his hair. He crawled up more to hear Law's heartbeat more. Law didn't move.

“Thought it would be rough, guess I was wrong. By the way, you eat more than I could ever eat in 10 years in one sitting, I'm worried about the state of your stomach honestly. I wouldn't be surprised if I found a hole in it.”

“Shishi… I love food, specially meat. Of course I'll eat lots of it. Ah… now I want some of Sanji's cooking… but Baratie is so far from here…” Luffy began nodding off as Law's fingers still worked along his scalp, and Luffy both somehow nuzzled into the hand and Law's chest.

“If you want, I can try to stop by Baratie on my way home tomorrow.” Law replied, a deep hum at the edge of his voice that made his chest reverberate pleasantly. Tomorrow. Law will be here tomorrow. Law is here now. He's not alone. Thump thump thump, Law's heartbeat continues to lull Luffy into sleep. He manages a single confirmative hum before lapsing into a now calm sleep.

 

.x.

 

Knock knock

 

“Captaiiiin, I know you're home, open up!!” Penguin called out and knocked on the door again. No response. Another knock, “C'mon Captain! You'll rot if you never leave your apartment except for work!” Still no response. Sighing, Penguin pulls out his phone and checks his messages. Law hasn't even replied to those yet. 

“Wonder if he's asleep… then...” He pulled out a key, “your bestest pal is comin’ in, please excuse the intrusion~” Penguin hummed, letting himself inside. He was doing this because he cared deeply about the well-being of his friend, and definitely not because he wanted to use Law's giant flat screen tv and expensive comfortable couch. No siree. However, Penguin wasn't exactly planning to see some guy he doesn't know _sleeping on top of Law._

He slapped both hands over his mouth to stop his own scream and froze up, remaining still as a statue in fear of them waking up and well… he didn't know. A few seconds pass, and Penguin realizes that not only is the stranger asleep, but so is Law. With that new realization, Penguin takes a moment to take in everything. One, there is someone he doesn't know sleeping on top of Law, in the living room, on the couch- is he not wearing any pants-?! Oh wait he's wearing shorts, it was just sorta hidden underneath the oversized hoodie that looks suspiciously like… one of Law's… old hoodies… He's wearing Law's clothes. He's sleeping on top of Law. Law has one hand through the others hair and another resting on their lower back. Meanwhile the other is utterly curled up and snoring away with a smile in his sleep. 

What. The fuck. Is happening. Even when Penguin blinked, the scene before him did not disappear nor change in the least. Since when did Law look _peaceful_ sleeping? Law _never_ looked peaceful at any point of time, albeit sometimes with Bepo. But still! Like this, those two look exactly like-

 

No way. 

 

He- Law never told him anything about a lover! How could he?! Or maybe it's a secret lover? Huh. A secret lover. So it's a secret. Well, as one of Law's friends, it's only right if he respects that. He'll keep it between him and Law.

 

And Shachi. 

 

Penguin whips out his phone and snaps a picture, sending it to his now fellow partner in crime. 

 

**To Shachi:** _Dude_

**To Shachi:** _Look_

**To Shachi:** _[image]_

**To Shachi:** _Bastard never told us about a boyfriend._

**To Shachi:** _He's been looking a bit less like the literal definition of death lately_

**To Shachi:** _This is def the reason_

**From Shachi:** _Dude chill with the messages what's thHOLY FUVM_

**From Shachi:** _TELL NE THS IS A JOKW_

**To Shachi:** _[image]_

**From Shachi:** _holy fuck_

**From Shachi:** _I'm shaking_

**From Shachi:** _This is real, isn't it?_

**To Shachi:** _ya and now I'm yeeting tf away before he wakes up and murders my ass_

**From Shachi:** _we need to find out e v e r y t h i n g_

**To Shachi:** _ofc_

**To Shachi:** _This is all for Captain_

**From Shachi:** _All for Captain_

 

…

 

**From Shachi:** _Get more pics b4 u leave tho_

**To Shachi:** _Getting a vid hold up_

**To Shachi:** _Fvjc the bf is shufgling grb_

**To Shachi:** _gtg*_

**From Shachi:** _Run_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And yeah. There's some of Luffy's backstory revealed. Some. 
> 
> Also "The lady who takes care of us" is not Dadan, I could never make Dadan so cruel.


End file.
